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One Frickin’ Coat:Elettra Wiedemann and Gryphon Design for Charity

When Elettra Wiedemann recently found her favorite jacket falling apart at the seams—it was a piece she’d had custom-made in Da Nang, Vietnam, that she likens to “an early version of Rick Owens”—she didn’t relegate it to neighborhood coffee runs only, like some of us might. Rather she joined forces with Gryphon designer Aimee Cho and recreated it and, while they were at it, several more like it to be sold to benefit Wiedemann’s charity One Frickin Day and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I’ve always been interested in trying my hand at designing,” Wiedemann says. “I liked the idea of One Frickin’ Coat!” The black number with a slim fit and oversize collar is the sort of simple, hardworking staple that truly can be worn over jeans, slim cropped pants, a sheath, or an evening dress. Its versatility is as much a nod to the demands of real women’s lives as it is to Wiedemann’s own. “My days always stack up, and I end up leaving the house in the morning and not coming back until really late,” Wiedemann says. So should the model have to switch gears from, say, an afternoon Lancôme shoot to a black-tie benefit for the Robin Hood foundation, a flip of the coat’s sequined collar instantly heightens the glamour. “My motto is ‘Simple is better,’ ” she explains. “This is a fusion of my daily life and the kind of tailoring that I love.”[#image: /photos/5892009db482c0ea0e4dc9d3]||||||Tonight, Cho, Wiedemann, and her fiancé (and OFD partner) James Marshall will host a party at Marshall’s West Village restaurant Whitehall to preview the coat, which hits stores in September but can be pre-ordered now from shoplesnouvelles.com. Wiedemann, unsurprisingly, knows just how she’ll wear hers. “It’s dark, so I’ll put on some color,” she says. “A sundress would be cute.”Gryphon’s One Frickin’ Coat, $665; Available for pre-order at shoplesnouvelles.com